It’s difficult to imagine being wrongfully convicted for a crime you did not commit. It would be especially difficult if you received a wrongful murder conviction. The nightmare of spending almost 30 years of your life in prison, for something you did not do, is truly unimaginable. Here is one man’s story.
“After the Ohio Innocence Project unearthed new exculpatory evidence, [Charles] Jackson was released from prison in 2018 before his charges were dismissed completely in 2019. Jackson had been serving an indefinite sentence in connection with a murder and attempted murder conviction in 1991,” reports News 5 Cleveland.
Common Pleas Judge Kathleen Sutula announced Monday that Jackson was wrongfully imprisoned. Jackson had tears in his eyes. Judge Sutula said, “I don’t think there is any judge that would ever want to imprison an innocent person. Since [the judge that presided over Jackson’s 1991 conviction] is not here to say he’s sorry, I’ll say it for him.”
“I was 27 when I went to jail when I can home I was 54 and my daughter was 27 so I was gone a long time,” Jackson said. “Everything is different, people change and even your family members you don’t know people you’re just a stranger now and it’s just hard.”
“Once the declaration was made, the Ohio Court of Claims will pay the man approximately $52,000 per year he was locked up, totaling roughly $1,456,000,” reports 19 News.
“Cleveland murder detectives hid evidence, fabricated evidence and hid witness statements that were completely exculpatory,” said Sarah Gelsomino, one of Jackson’s attorneys. “When police and prosecutors don’t do justice, when they don’t pursue justice, when they intentionally withhold evidence and put the wrong people behind bars, everyone suffers. The ripple effects of that go on and on and on for decades.”
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What a nightmare! He missed the entirety of his daughter’s childhood and much of her young adulthood. His mother died while he was in prison. All for a crime he did not do. Would you take $1.5 million to give up half your life? What should happen to police and prosecutors who do what was done to Jackson?
